REPOSE.—1. It seems superfluous to labour (e.g. as Liddon, Bampton Lecture, p. 20; Edersheim, LT [Note: T Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Edersheim].] i. 599 f.) the point that Jesus needed repose, bodily rest, relaxation, as witnessing to His real human nature. This feature of His experience, along with others, appears as a quite simple and natural thing in the picture of the Prophet of Nazareth as presented by the primitive Evangelical tradition. The Synoptics repeatedly speak of the crowds that gathered about Jesus in the course of His work. The brief story is full of movement, press, and popular excitement. Withdrawal from time to time for rest and prayer was simply imperative. Mark conspicuously calls attention (as in Mark 6:31 δεῦτε … κ. ἀναπαύσασθε ὀλίγον) to the various occasions when Jesus sought escape and relief from the crush. The Fourth Gospel, too, for all its peculiar portrayal of Jesus, accords with the Synoptics in this description of His ministry: see especially the mention of popular excitement in Jerusalem and elsewhere in chs. 6, 7 and 10. Nor must we overlook in another connexion the homely picture of Jesus resting, tired out with His journey, given in John 4:6. This in a way matches the memorable picture found in the threefold Synoptic narrative, in which the Master beats a speedy retreat after one busy and exhausting day, and sleeps like a child through the storm (Mark 4:35-38 ||). At the same time it is to be noted that undoubtedly Jesus sought by such withdrawals from public life not only repose and relief, but also opportunities for the special instruction of the Twelve. As particular instances of this, Mark 3:13; Mark 7:24-37 may be cited (see Bruce, art. ‘Jesus,’ § 11, in EBi [Note: Bi Encyclopaedia Biblica.] , vol. ii.).

2. Repose of spirit as a trait in the character of Jesus abundantly appears in the Gospels. If in doing the works of Him that sent Him (John 9:4) He often seems ‘ohne Rast,’ He is always in manner and spirit ‘ohne Hast.’ Suppliants for His help in healing the sick are often frantic in their appeals; He in responding ever displays composure and deliberation. Contrast, e.g., the entreaties of Jairus (Mark 5:22 f.) and the calmness of the whole attitude of Jesus (Mark 5:36); the quiet response, ‘I will come and heal him’ (Matthew 8:7), and the hurried, eager request of the Roman captain on behalf of his servant. These are typical instances. John presents the same feature in the description of our Lord’s behaviour on hearing of the sickness of Lazarus (ch. 11). The paroxysm of grief which shakes Him when He comes to His friend’s grave (John 11:33-34) only throws into relief the normal composure which recovers itself in John 11:41 f. Such, too, is the relation of Gethsemane’s agony to the calm dignity which shows itself through all the rest of the Via Dolorosa. It is also a characteristic of the teaching of Jesus that there is an entire absence of the impatience, fuss, and strain which so often characterize the schemes of social and religious work launched by His well-meaning followers. With all the zeal and diligence that His sayings lay stress on, He always speaks with the accent of one who can afford to wait. It is not a mere matter of chance that serenity sits on the face of the Lord, as He is represented in the unbroken tradition of Christian art.

3. In the well-known passage Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus offers the gift of repose (ἀνάπαυσις, Authorized and Revised Versions rest) to those who will learn of Him. It is true, ἀνάπαυσις strictly speaking denotes relief from labour, a break to afford rest to tired toilers (see Trench, NT Synonyms, § 41); and it seems also to imply the resumption of labour. The words of Jesus, however, teach that to take His yoke and bear His burden, to live and serve as He teaches and as He lived and served Himself, will itself be ἀνάπαυσις as compared with other modes of living and serving, the yoke of which is never to be resumed. ‘A Christi corde manat quies in animas nostras’ (Bengel, in loc.). Tranquillity of soul, then, is a promised accompaniment of true Christian discipleship. A temper eagerly cultivated by Stoics (aequanimitas was the last watchword given by Antoninus Pius to his bodyguard) is also a precious Christian grace.

‘Drop Thy still dews of quietness,

Till all our strivings cease:

Take from our souls the strain and stress,

And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Thy peace.’ (Whittier).

J. S. Clemens.

Bibliography Information
Hastings, James. Entry for 'Repose'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/r/repose.html. 1906-1918.

Bible Dictionaries Repose

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

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Repose